America Was Built By Immigrants: The Meaning Behind the Shirt
Part of our guide: Human Rights at Home: What They Are, and What People Wear
"America Was Built By Immigrants" is a plain statement of history, worn as an answer to anyone who says immigrants do not belong. It is one of the best-selling designs at Care & Resist, and it comes as a tee, a hoodie and a crewneck sweatshirt.
America Was Built By Immigrants
America Was Built By Immigrants Hoodie
America Was Built By Immigrants SweatshirtWhat it means
The railroads, the mills, the mines, the farms, the skyscrapers and the restaurants: at every stage, the people doing the building were new arrivals and their children, along with enslaved people who were brought here by force and whose labor built as much as anyone's. The sentence on the shirt is the short version of that history.
People wear it now because it is being argued with. When raids and deportations are in the news, a calm sentence about who built the country is a way of saying that the people being targeted are the people the country has always depended on.
Who wears it
- Immigrants and the children and grandchildren of immigrants, which is most of the country.
- Teachers, especially of history and English learners.
- Immigration lawyers, organizers and volunteers.
- Neighbors who want the family next door to know where they stand.
When people wear it
Rallies and vigils, citizenship ceremonies, the Fourth of July, Immigrant Heritage Month in June, and everyday errands in neighborhoods where it matters to be seen saying it.
The design
Lowercase lettering in a soft retro serif, each letter a different color of a muted rainbow, with a few small sparkles. Three lines, with a capital A on America. It is patriotic without using a flag. It was written and lettered by a person, like every Care & Resist design, and it is printed to order in the USA.
The tee comes in eight garment colors, from Ivory and White to Black and Graphite, with softer shades such as Blossom, Banana, Bay and Chambray in between. The hoodie and the sweatshirt come in Black, White, Sand and Sport Grey. All three are unisex with a relaxed cut and run true to size; see the size and fit guide.
Designs people wear with it
From the statement of history to the demands that follow from it.
Defend Your Immigrant Neighbors
Families Over Borders
Due Process is not a Loophole
We Do not Cage PeopleBuying for a group? Group orders of existing designs go on one custom listing so everyone's sizes and colors ship together; see group and bulk orders. See the complete set in anti-ICE and immigrant rights shirts, the slogan set in Abolish ICE shirts, and our page on due process, human rights at home.
Questions people ask
What does "America Was Built By Immigrants" mean?
It means that immigrants and their descendants did much of the work of building the United States, and that immigrants belong here now as they always have.
Is it an anti-ICE shirt?
It is a pro-immigrant shirt. It states history and names no agency. Shirts that address ICE directly are in the Abolish ICE collection.
Is it appropriate for school or work?
In most settings, yes. It contains no profanity and names no politician. Follow your own dress code.
Does it come as a hoodie or sweatshirt?
Yes. The same design is available as a tee, a hoodie and a crewneck sweatshirt, and each product page links to the other two.
Can I order it for a group?
Yes. Pick the garment, collect sizes and colors, and we put the whole group on one custom listing that ships together; see group and bulk orders.